Hydroponics is the cultivation of plants without soil. Hydroponics provides healthier, disease-free plants, faster than growing in soil. In soil-less culture, plants are instead cultivated using a liquid solution of water and nutrients. There are 6 basic types of hydroponic systems: Wick, Raft (also called Water Culture), Ebb and Flow (also called Flood & Drain), Drip, Nutrient Film Technique, and Aeroponic. There are hundreds of variations on these basic types of systems, and most hydroponics systems can be described as a variation or combination of these six types.
Wick systems can be simple, passive systems, with no moving parts. Plants are grown in a soil-less growing medium and a solution containing water and nutrients is delivered using wicks that absorb the solution from a reservoir and deliver the solution to the growing medium. The roots of the plants are optionally prevented from or allowed to grow in the solution. Plant growth is limited by the delivery rate of the wicks and the amount of oxygen in the solution, which, unless supplemented, is often low.
Raft systems can also be very simple. Plants are grown in a soil-less growth medium that is floated by a raft on the surface of a solution containing water and nutrients. The roots of the plants are optionally prevented from or allowed to grow in the solution. Plant growth is limited by the amount of oxygen in the solution, which, unless supplemented, is often low.
Ebb and Flow systems are more complex. The plants are grown in a soil-less growth medium in a flooding tray. Solution containing water and nutrients is intermittently delivered to the flooding tray and then returned to a reservoir. The plant roots are directly or indirectly contacted by the solution in the flooding tray. Optionally the solution is delivered by a pump and returned by gravity. The flooding cycle is optionally controlled by a timer.
Drip systems are divided into recovery and non-recovery systems. Plants are grown in a soil-less growing medium. A solution containing water and nutrients is delivered in drips to the growing medium. The solution that is not used by the plants is either recycled (recovery systems) or discarded (non-recovery systems). In recovery systems, although there often is a reservoir, the plant roots are typically prevented from growing directly in the solution. Plant growth is limited by the amount of oxygen in the solution, which, unless supplemented, is often low.
Nutrient Film Technique (N.F.T.) systems constantly deliver a thin film of a nutrient and water containing solution. The plants are grown in a soil-less growth medium and the roots are allowed to grow outside the medium into the surrounding air or the plants are grown directly suspended in the air without a growing medium. The roots that grow in the air are constantly contacted by the thin film of solution. Typically the solution is recycled. Optionally the solution is delivered by a pump and returned by gravity. Because there is only a thin film of solution, the roots are very susceptible to drying out if the flow of nutrient solution is interrupted.
Aeroponic systems deliver the solution as a fine spray. The plants are grown in a soil-less growth medium and the roots are allowed to grow outside the medium into the surrounding air or the plants are grown directly suspended in the air without a growing medium. The roots that grow in the air are intermittently sprayed or misted with a solution containing water and nutrients. The roots of the plants are optionally prevented from or allowed to grow in the solution. Typically a timer is used to regulate the spraying cycle. Aeroponic systems often suffer from roots growing into and clogging the sprayers and from large roots close to the sprayer preventing roots further away from being sprayed, both requiring extensive maintenance or resulting in losses of plants. EP 0 052 264, filed Oct. 26, 1981, by Ein-Gedi, is an example of an Aeroponic system.
Aeroponics systems do not employ a means for supporting the roots in a liquid, or in a porous or particulate medium. In an aeroponic system, plants are supported over a chamber. The foliage of the plant extends upward from the outer surface of the chamber where it may be exposed to light and the roots extend downward into the chamber where they are suspended freely and are periodically exposed to a spray, forced mist, fog or other method of nutrient solution delivery. In an aeroponic system, nutrient delivery to the root structure of a plant is even more carefully regulated than in a hydroponic system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,141, issued Apr. 13, 1993, describes a hydroponics system made from a pair of flatwise juxtaposed layers of water-impervious material, to make a system resembling an airless N.F.T. The system is not useful for germination of plant seeds; plants already having roots are inserted. Because the layers are flatwise, there is no distinct airspace in which roots are allowed to grow, and no liquid reservoir in which roots can grow is provided. No drops descend through air. This system does not allow growing medium to be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,836, issued Aug. 15, 1995, describes a multistory, stacked bed hydroponics system. No liquid solution is delivered to a reservoir without first contacting a growing medium, plant, or side wall of the reservoir. No drops descend through air.
Neither of the two previously mentioned hydroponics systems allow liquid drops to descend through a gas.
EzHydroKit (EzHydroKit, Tucson, Ariz.) is a drip system that uses rock wool as a growing medium. The rock wool is held in a net pot and micro tubing pumps solution to the net pot where it is sprayed into the net pot. The solution then returns to the reservoir, which must be kept at a level just below the net pots. Keeping the solution at a level just below the net pots prevents the formation of an air space. No liquid solution is delivered to a reservoir without first contacting a growing medium. The method for using the kit as described in their manual (EzGrowGuide™ 2003) requires that the rock wool be soaked overnight at pH 5.5 or less and requires the use of unfiltered water. The manual instructs that the drip system should not be used during the first two weeks of growth, including during germination. The solution is to be changed every 7-10 days, including the method step of pH balancing the water to pH 5.5. The manual instructs that the pump is never to be stopped except for when changing the solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,327, issued Jul. 12, 1983, and EP 0 042 697, published Dec. 30, 1981, describe a hydroponics system having upper and lower compartments formed of flexible plastics. This system is not useful for germination; plants are added when they already have formed a root ball. In the non-wicking systems, liquid is delivered above the plant transition region. No liquid is delivered to a reservoir without first contacting a growing medium or a compartment wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,958, issued Jul. 18, 2000, describes a hydroponic system for growing potatoes using a stolon partition member to prevent lenticel hypertrophy. This system is not useful for any plants other than potatoes and is not useful during germination. Liquid is not delivered to the plant at the height of the transition region or to each plant separately.
Neither of the three previously mentioned hydroponics systems is useful for plant seed germination.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,990, issued Jan. 19, 1982, describes a hydroponics system made from interfitting tubular elements. No liquid solution is delivered to a reservoir without first contacting a growing medium, and no amount of solution deeper than a thin film is allowed to be inside the lower channel, therefore roots never grow within a solution reservoir.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,647, issued Mar. 7, 1995, describes an aeroponic hydroponics system. A horizontal divider separates the roots from the reservoir, preventing the roots from being immersed in the solution. No liquid solution is delivered to a reservoir without first contacting the divider and possibly also the growing medium and/or the plant roots.
WO 94/13129, published Jun. 23, 1994, describes a stacked hydroponics system, which is divided into three horizontal plant husbandry zones. Several methods for delivering liquid are described, however no liquid drops descend into a liquid reservoir. This system is not useful for germination.
Neither of the three previously mentioned hydroponics systems provides a reservoir for the growth of roots.
None of the previously mentioned hydroponics systems delivers liquid through a gas into a liquid reservoir, without having the liquid first contact a growing medium, a portion of a plant, or a wall of the reservoir vessel. None of the previously mentioned hydroponics systems allows liquid to descend in drops through a gas, delivers liquid directly to a liquid reservoir, and is useful for germination of plant seeds.
Hydroponics systems available in the art have been designed for large-scale agriculture. These systems do not work for the retail consumer because they are expensive, large, unsightly, and/or require extensive maintenance. The consumer also had different goals compared to large-scale agriculture; the consumer's concern for harvest quality greatly outweighs the concern for production quantity. There is a need in the art for devices and methods that allow consumers to grow a large variety of plants, in a large variety of contexts, using a large variety of methods. Consumers have a diverse array of demands. A successful product must accommodate a diversity of aesthetic requirements (e.g., visual, auditory, gustatory) and a wide range of reasons for growing (e.g., alternative plant varieties, alternative horticultural methods). Many individuals have little or no experience growing their own food, yet others have extensive experience gardening. Consumers have access to a diversity of water quality, historically a critical factor for successful hydroponic growing. One characteristic consumers typically share is they have a limited amount of space available for growing food and ornamental plants. There is a need in the art for products that allow consumers to easily grow tasty, nutritious, healthy, and/or beautiful fruits, vegetable, herbs, spices, and flowers from seed through harvest in their own homes, even when they have no previous experience growing plants, yet also provides a superior experience for master gardeners. Previous attempts by others to design such a product have failed due to system expense, complexity or simplicity, aesthetics, flexibility (plants number/variety or horticultural practices), lack of system robustness, and/or amount of prior knowledge or care required by the user. This invention provides devices that fit on a counter underneath standard cabinets, in a modern kitchen.
Plants need light, water, nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, appropriate temperatures, and time in order to grow. This invention provides devices and methods for easily growing a wide variety of plants that are healthier and more nutritious than plants grown in soil. This invention provides a novel hydroponics system that is self-contained, useful for germination through harvest, useful for cuttings, is useful with low technology components, is useful for single plants through agricultural production, and provides more oxygen to the plant roots than other hydroponic systems.
It is known in the art that plants grow faster and healthier in the presence of negative ions. It is known in the art that flowforms oxygenate, revitalize, and rejuvenate water (Flowforms, Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses, pp 60-61). However, no previously available hydroponics systems have incorporated negative ion generators, and/or flowforms inside a hydroponics device. This invention provides hydroponics devices that incorporate negative ion generators and/or flowforms within. The negative ion generators not only benefit the plants, but also the humans and animals in the vicinity. The flowforms continuously cleanse and oxygenate the recycled liquid, increasing the ranges of lower quality water sources that may be input into the devices of this invention.
A challenge in multiple plant container gardening is the even delivery of inputs to every plant. In hydroponics, the rate and method of liquid delivery is critical. Not enough moisture results in the plants dehydrating and dying. Too much water results in choking, drowning, and death. Containers fail when they hold too much or too little water. US 2003/0167688 (published Sep. 11, 2003) describes a plant root development container that has anti-circling channels and air channels, but none of the channels are for containing or guiding a flowing liquid. Although baskets, hydroponics containers, for containing growth media exist in the art, none direct incoming liquid around a contained plant or growth medium. This invention provides devices for regulating the flow of liquid to the growth medium and to each plant. These devices are particularly useful when initiating the flow of liquid, such as for germination, when the liquid must contact a dry, potentially shrunken, growth medium, to reach a dormant or germinating seed.
A challenge in consumer level hydroponics is incorporating a reliable method for reminding the user to regularly care for the growing plants. This invention provides a reliable method for reminding a user to care for the growing plants.
This invention provides a hydroponics device using a previously unknown liquid delivery system for the delivery of liquid. This invention provides hydroponic devices for oxygenating liquid and optionally for revitalizing and rejuvenating the liquid. This invention provides devices for consistently delivering a selected amount of liquid to the growth medium or plant in a hydroponics device. This invention provides previously unknown combinations of aspirator and venturi devices for oxygenating liquid within a hydroponics device. U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,008 (issued Sep. 19, 2000) describes an oxygenating apparatus, but it works under pressure greater than 1 atm and is not useful inside a hydroponics device.
This invention provides hydroponics devices that provide more oxygen than prior art hydroponics devices, resulting in faster growth, healthier plants, and larger or tastier harvests. The plants grown using hydroponics are more nutritious than plants grown in soil.
The devices of this invention are easy to use, and no plant-growing experience or green thumb is required. The hydroponics devices of this invention are self-contained, providing water, plant nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and photoradiation, providing everything most plants need to grow. The hydroponics devices of this invention are useful from germination through harvest and through plant senescence or plant death. The devices are useful for growing seedlings for transplantation into another growing system. The devices of this invention are useful for growing plants considered difficult to grow, including orchids and plants considered difficult to germinate, including parsley.
The devices of this invention provide a pleasant, soothing waterfall sound, or optionally are quiet. The devices provide negative ions for better plant health and for better health of the humans and animals in the surroundings.
The methods and devices of this invention are useful for single plants through large-scale agricultural operations. This invention provides devices that are less susceptible than other hydroponics systems to harming plants as a result of electricity failures.
Soil-less cultivation of plants can provide many advantages over traditional soil-based cultivation. In a soil-less medium, delivery of nutrients to plant roots can be regulated more easily in order to optimize plant growth. This is done by precisely controlling the composition of a nutrient solution, and then by controlling precisely the frequency that plant roots are exposed to the nutrient solution. Plants grow faster in a soil-less environment because plant roots are not required to expend the energy to push soil particles, and therefore have more energy available for growing.
In hydroponics techniques, plants are grown in the absence of soil and roots are maintained in a substantially liquid environment or humid environment. Instead of soil, the root mass of the plant is either supported within an essentially homogeneous synthetic or natural medium, which is either porous or particulate, or the root mass is immersed within a liquid, while the foliage of the plant is allowed to extend upward from the root support medium where it is exposed to light. Meanwhile, the root structure is exposed to a nutrient solution which may be either wicked up to the roots by means of a porous wicking medium or circulated by means of a pump irrigation system. Either way, nutrient delivery to the root mass may be carefully regulated.
Soil-less media for growing plants are generally composed of materials that have low water-retention characteristics, allowing liquid nutrient solution to flow readily to plant roots and then to drain away so that roots are not constantly soaked in a liquid that may foster rot or the growth of damaging fungi. Soil-less media may be composed of any number of suitable porous substances such as peat moss, wood bark, cellulose, pumice, plastic or polystyrene pellets, vermiculite or foam, for example.
Various soil-less plant growth media are disclosed in the prior art: For example, Dedolph (U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,749) teaches a quantity of soil mixture particles distributed throughout a body of spongy polymer. Moffet (U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,803) discloses a plant growth media “which comprises small tufts of mineral wool.” Anton (U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,292) discloses a “non-woven mat comprising a layer of hollow synthetic organic fibers.” Hsh (U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,593) discloses a synthetic cultivation medium comprised of scrap textile. Kosinski (U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,219) discloses “a soil substitute” comprised of “biodegradable and non-biodegradable polymer fibers.”
All of these above-mentioned inventions provide a fibrous, filamentous or foam support for seed which allows water to pass through. While these disclosures offer an advantage over germinating seeds in soil alone, none of these references, taken alone or in combination offer the advantages of the present invention.
Seed germination is a particular concern in any soil-less cultivation system. Since the soil-less medium must adequately support the seed, the medium must be composed of a material firm enough to hold a seed, seedling or cutting in place until its root and stem structures can form, and yet it must contain characteristics of porosity and low water-retention so that seeds are not immersed in liquid.
A variety of soil-less, specifically seed-germinating media have been disclosed in the prior art. For example, Jones (U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,785) teaches a “discrete media of finite and substantially definite dimensions and having sufficient mechanical integrity and chemical stability to substantially withstand fracturing and degradation . . . as a seed implanted therein germinates and the resulting plant grows to commercial maturity.” Jones describes one such embodiment of this “discrete media” comprising a “peat pellet encased in perforated plastic.”
Dedolph (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,221,749 and 4,495,310) teaches a “plant growth supporting rooting medium” comprised of polyurethane foam. This patent has been commercialized in the Chia® sponge and the Rapid Rooter® grow sponge, both of which permit seed germination within the sponge. Nir (U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,105) teaches an “aeroponic plant growth and development medium especially suitable for the development of seeds, seedling or cuttings . . . comprising a support member formed of generally coplanar spaced sheets of screen material.” Alternatively, Nir teaches a “plurality of seed containing dishes” which are perforated to allow “its contents [to be] subjected to a mist.” Fraze (U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,217) teaches “a self-containing nutrient plant propagation medium utiliz(ing) a sterile, low water retention, linear foam plastic” within which a seed may be placed for germination. This medium is placed into the “mounting surface” of a hydroponic system which contains holes sized for the medium. More recently, Ishioka (U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,011) teaches “a seedling culture mat comprising a mat which comprises a fibrous substrate or a water-soluble film or paper.” Otake (U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,674) teaches a porous sheet of foamed cells for raising seedlings on an industrial mass-production scale.
Each of these seed germination media may be used to carry a seed until implantation of the entire seed-bearing medium in either a soil-based or soil-less plant growth system. None of these above described disclosures provides the seed support media of the present invention:
It is known that certain seed types germinate at a higher frequency with light and that others germinate at a higher frequency with darkness. This invention provides germination caps for directing light toward or away from seeds for various germination requirements. Although U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,783 (issued Apr. 22, 1980) describes frosted, convex light absorbing elements to intercept and direct light to plants, the elements do not direct light toward germinating seeds or away from plants or seeds. Also, the shapes of the elements appear to be convex in outer shape to prevent external liquid from being contained, by the element, but the elements do not include optical elements for directing light.